Serious Sibling Rivalry! Series

“SERIOUS SIBLING RIVALRY!” Gen. 37:12-36

FBCF – 5/14/23

Jon Daniels

INTRO – https://www.sermoncentral.com/church-media-preaching-sermons/sermon-video-illustrations/rebuilding-3803-detail

Ephesians 4:31 commands us to, “Get rid of all bitterness.” Why?

- It’s poison in our relationships.

- It’s acid in our souls.

- It’s cancerous to our lives.

- It can be deadly to our friendships, our families, & our faith.

- And as the video showed us, the walls go up around our lives & we are locked inside by our bitterness.

James 3:14 – “But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth.”

Hebrews 12:15 – “Watch out that no bitterness takes root among you, for as it springs up it causes deep trouble, hurting many in their spiritual lives.” (TLB)

There’s not a person here who has not been bitter about something or toward someone. And there’s not a person here who has not been affected by someone’s bitterness toward them. As we move further into Joseph’s story in this sermon series, “From the Pit to the Palace,” we will see a deep root of bitterness spring up from his brothers as we talk about some “Serious Sibling Rivalry” today.

EXPLANATION – Genesis 37:12-36

Definition of “sibling rivalry” – “Sibling rivalry describes the inevitable competition & animosity that occurs between siblings.” (https://health.clevelandclinic.org/sibling-rivalry/) And that’s definitely what we see develop between Joseph & his brothers.

Let’s revisit the first part of chapter 37 & find out what prompted this serious sibling rivalry.

Jacob had 12 sons who were the origins of the 12 tribes of Israel. And out of those 12, Joseph was #11 & was Jacob’s favorite b/c he was born late in Jacob’s life. This dysfunction of favoritism was carried over from a previous generation b/c Jacob was his mama’s favorite child & his brother, Esau, was his daddy’s favorite child. Those dysfunctional roots planted the seeds of bitterness that would spring up in Joseph’s relationship w/ his brothers.

Another reason for the bitterness that welled up in his brothers was b/c of the dreams that Joseph had in v. 5-11.

- First dream was about grain. Dreamed he & brothers were out working in the fields binding their sheaves of grain, when suddenly his sheaf rose up & theirs all bowed down to it. Pretty obvious was this dream meant: There would come a time when all of his brothers would bow down to him.

- Second dream similar to first. He saw the sun, moon, & 11 stars bowing down to him. Meant that his parents would also come bow down to him someday.

Those dreams, coupled w/ his father’s blatant favoritism, provided great fertilizer to the seeds of bitterness that were already implanted in his brothers’ hearts. Those seeds would burst forth into some horrible thoughts, attitudes, words, & actions, just like bitterness ALWAYS does if not dealt with in the life of the Christ-follower. That’s why the application of this message is:

APPLICATION – Getting rid of bitterness ought to be a priority for every Christ-follower.

THE BROTHERS' CONSPIRACY – v. 18-20 – Ever been blindsided by someone? See it happen in football games sometimes when a player is pursuing the ball carrier at full speed & an opposing player blindsides him w/ a block that knocks him out of his cleats. Sometimes car accidents happen due to someone getting blindsided. We get blindsided when someone or something comes out of nowhere & unexpectedly slams into you.

That’s what happened to Joseph. Jacob told him to go see how his brothers were doing as they shepherded their flock (v. 14). So he was just doing what his father told him to do – being an obedient son. Little did he know what his brothers were conspiring to do to him – they saw him coming & planned to catch him completely off-guard, blindside him, & kill him.

REUBEN'S COMPASSION – v. 21-24 – Reuben was oldest &, as such, maybe had a little more wisdom, a little more compassion, & a little less sibling rivalry toward Joseph. He intervened & convinced his brothers to spare Joseph’s life & just throw him in the pit. Then Reuben planned to come back & rescue Joseph & bring him back to Jacob.

Scriptures don’t tell us specifically who came up w/ the idea to kill Joseph. Just keeps saying “they” – “THEY saw him from afar…THEY conspired against him to kill him (v. 18). “THEY said to one another…(v. 19).”

That’s what bitterness does: It grows & it spreads to others – kind of a “mob” mentality that develops. That’s one of the dangerous, destructive outcomes of bitterness. It will spread among family members. It will spread among friends. It will spread among a church.

SOLD TO THE CARAVAN – v. 25-28 – Look at the callousness the brothers showed after they threw him into the pit: “Then they sat down to eat.” The dirty deed was done. Their bitterness had spewed all over Joseph as they ripped his multi-colored robe off, & shoved him off into the pit. This passage doesn’t tell us about Joseph’s response to his brothers, but we read later in Genesis 42:21 – “…we saw the distress of his soul, when he begged us & we did not listen…” Bitterness hardens your heart, closes your ears, shuts down your compassion, & skews your thinking.